Portrait of Hacham Shimon Agassi

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Beraishit-12.5-בראשית

The souls of Charan

5.’And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the souls that they had made (acquired) in Charan, and they left to go to the Land of Canaan, and they arrived in the Land of Canaan-וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָם אֶת שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת לוֹט בֶּן אָחִיו וְאֶת כָּל רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ וְאֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן וַיֵּצְאוּ לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיָּבֹאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן(11853=18 counting final Nuns and Mems as 700 and 600).

The verse can be divided so:

·And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the souls that they had made (acquired) in Charan-וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָם אֶת שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת לוֹט בֶּן אָחִיו וְאֶת כָּל רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ וְאֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן (6543=18 or 8693=26=8counting final Nuns and Mems as 700 and 600);

·And they left to go to the Land of Canaan, and they arrived in the Land of Canaan-וַיֵּצְאוּ לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיָּבֹאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן (2890+7 words=26=8 counting final Nuns as 700).

·And all their possessions that they had amassed-וְאֶת כָּל רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ(1979=26=8);

·And the souls that they had made (acquired) in Charan-וְאֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן (2610 =1+8);

·And they left to go to the Land of Canaan-וַיֵּצְאוּ לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן(1079=17=8);

·And they arrived in the Land of Canaan-וַיָּבֹאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן(511+3 words=10=1 or 1161=1+8 counting final Nun as 700).

Rashi comments here that Abram and Sarai would take in the male and female people (souls) respectively and convert them to monotheism and scripture considers as if they "made them" (Sanhedrin 99.b; Beraishit Rabbah 39.14; 84.4). The simple meaning is that they were slaves and slave-woman which they had acquired.

The joint gematria of the names:

·Abram- אַבְרָם=243 or 803

·Sarai- שָׂרַי =510

·Lot- לוֹט=45

798+3 words = 801or 1358=17=8 (Mem 600)

The gematria of the words “towards the Land of Canaan”-אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן is 486=18.

The gematria of the words “all their possessions that they amassed”-כָּל רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ is 1643 +4 words=18.

The gematria of the words “their property that they amassed”-רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ is 1593=18.